Control
by Cheeky-eyes
Summary: He was no longer alone in the corridor so it was time for him to play nicely. 'Oh, Honda wasn't it.' The boy looked at him. 'Yeah, Namu wasn't it'


_Today we are playing spot the bananashipping for round eight of season eight of the YGO pairing comp. Enjoy._

**xxx**

If it weren't for the sound of the air rushing past the window the corridor would have been silent. Of this Marik approved of as there was nothing to break his concentration or his stride as he headed towards his room. All was going according to plan and this pleased him more than he thought it would. Those damn fools actually believed that he wanted to be their friend and they actually trusted him. Of course this suited him just fine; it would make his destruction of the Pharaoh all the more pleasing if it were to come from one of his 'friends' and that he wanted more then anything.

As he turned the corner he indulged in a smirk but quickly wiped it off his face once he realised he wasn't alone in the corridor anymore for walking towards him as one of the Vessel's annoying little friends. It took a lot of self restraint for him to keep a pleasant smile on his face while he greeted him as they came closer together.

"Oh hey, Honda wasn't it?" he greeted as pleasantly as he could once he realised who it was as they met in the middle. It wasn't one of his old puppets, which explained why he hadn't realised he was there until he had been almost upon him. This one didn't repulse him as much as the others did and he certainly intrigued him. Then again anyone whose mind he hadn't infiltrated had begun to intrigue him lately as until he had forged some kind of connection they were free agents and could disrupt his plan at any moment before he could interfere. But as long as they didn't have any power this didn't bother him too much as he could quickly correct that situation anyway.

As he finished speaking Honda smiled slightly and nodded.

"Yeah. And you're Namu right," he said with an air of recollection. "You're the one who saved Bakura." Clearly he was fond of pointing out the obvious Marik noted. For some reason this didn't irk him as much as it usually would of.

"Yes. And it was nothing really," he replied as suitably sheepishly as he could manage. It really didn't take much to feed the illusion but he knew that if things got out of hand he could just control anyone who was too smart for their own good so he didn't try too hard. He had already forged a link between two of them already and he was willing to use it again if need be. Adding another puppet to his collection wouldn't be such a bad idea as it would be far better to be safe than sorry. The girl he already had plans for but adding another cheerleader to the ranks would be rather handy.

"You know I never did hear the full story of that. What exactly happened again?" like Yugi Honda didn't sound like he trusted him completely. He could respect that if it weren't for the kink in his plan it produced. Pushing down the slight resentment that was growing he answered as friendly as he could.

"I found him in an ally bleeding. Lucky I had a bandage in my bag and I found your friends," he replied. Honda's eyes briefly narrowed as he tried to find a hole in that story but he let it slide.

"Lucky indeed. Hey what happened to you after the Rare Hunters attacked you guys after Bakura was taken to the hospital?" there was no accusation in Honda's voice but Marik didn't need to stretch his imagination too much to see where this would be heading.

"They left me alone because I had no rare card to satisfy them. I don't know why they took Anzu with them but I'm glad they're safe," as he replied one of his hands surreptitiously crept to his pocket where the rod was. If Honda didn't believe that he would make him, one way or another.

"Huh. You are lucky then," Honda replied after a moment. Marik relaxed slightly despite not being aware of how tense he'd felt but didn't lower his caution completely. He decided that a change of topic would be safest at this point before that fool stumbled upon something he shouldn't.

"So what brings you to this part of the ship?" he asked casually as he stroked the rod in his pocket, ready to use it at a moments notice. Honda indicated to a room on the left of the corridor behind him.

"I need to pee," he replied equally casually with a shrug.

"Ah," Marik replied as he looked down the corridor to make sure it was still clear. His opportunity to control Honda was slipping away, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Too many would raise suspicion he reasoned, ignoring the fact that the control was subtle enough that no one ever noticed. And of course, the boy in front of him had no abilities he could make use of besides the vague fascination he had with him.

With that he decided that controlling Honda wouldn't be the best idea, for now. For the time being he would just wait and watch. After all, someone with a brain was far handier in the long run then someone who couldn't be trusted on their own, and while the girl had already proved herself useful he was content to have the knowledge that he could have Honda at any time he wanted.

"Well I won't keep you then. I'll see you in the main hall," he said forcing a smile again as he set off down the corridor with a small wave. He was sure that the boy had some vague suspicions, but he seemed to have brushed those off. Marik was good at what he did and he didn't really care about anything then destroying the Pharaoh so one boy's suspicions meant nothing if he knew it would come to nothing. Honda nodded.

"Yeah, see you down there," his voice was calm and held no hostility but there was something in it that unsettled Marik none the less.

He let go of the rod once he had turned the corner again. The meeting hadn't been a complete waste of time. So the fools weren't as trusting as he had given them credit for, although he was sure that Honda would have forgotten any doubts he had had by the time they'd meet again. He wouldn't control him, but he wasn't against a bit of subtle manipulation. Yes, all was indeed going according to plan.

As he strode towards his room he smirked once again.


End file.
